Clay Matthews: Julius Peppers Will Create More Sacks For Me

You don’t have to look far to find the one guy in Green Bay most excited about the Julius Peppers signing. Packers star linebacker Clay Matthews gets in a celebratory mood when discussing the addition of Peppers.

Matthews’ suffered through a pair of thumb injuries that led to season-ending surgery in December. Matthews for his part believes his thumbs will be less stressed after the Packers added the former Bears sack master. Matthews told USA Today that Peppers’arrival is going to lead to more chances to get to the quarterback.

“This guy’s [6-7], 290. I’m 6-4 on a good day and 255,” Matthews said, via Tom Pelissero of USA Today. “They’re going to double the big guy, and that leaves plenty of opportunities for me. I haven’t had too many one-on-one opportunities, and when you do, you’re expected to win — at least in our locker room — the majority of the time, because that’s supposed to be a mismatch.”

A healthy Matthews and an inspired Julius Peppers should definitely allow the Packers to bring all types of pressure to opposing offenses.